The prestigious annual Rose D'Or Awards (now in their 55th year) honour the very best of international radio, TV and online entertainment programmes, and the awards ceremony took place last night (Tuesday, September 13th 2016). Over 400 programmes from more than 130 broadcasters and production companies in 33 different countries were submitted for this year’s Rose d’Or awards. For the first time, a new competition category, 'Radio Event Of The Year' was created. We entered European Dawn Chorus in this category, and we're absolutely delighted to let you know that ... drumroll... WE WON!!! We're absolutely thrilled to pieces, and a massive thanks to all our EBU and BirdLife International partners, we couldn't have done it without you! Click here to read more about the 2016 Rose D'Or awards (in which legendary funnyman John Cleese picked up the Lifetime Achievement award), and click here to relive - and re-listen to - all the beautiful Dawn Chorus birdsong from right across Europe.

***STOP PRESS*** Dawn Chorus Picks Up Another Award!

We're thrilled to let you know that on Friday, October 7th, the Dawn Chorus won the Innovation Award at the PPI Radio Awards in Kilkenny!

On Mooney today...

Je Ne Regrette Rien - singer Jeannette Byrne celebrates the life and music of French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Vet Andrew Byrne answers your pet questions. Brenda meets a couple who have been able to secure their home through renovating it, with help from Habitat For Humanity. And three players attempt to beat the clock, and each other, to win a weekend hotel break in Mooney's Wednesday Quiz!

Caring For Garden Birds This Winter

To find out how to care for and attract garden birds, read Jim Wilson's Guide To Garden Birds - CLICK HERE!

Share:

The Blind Boys Of Alabama Competition

Calling all Irish gospel choirs/groups!

Would you like to perform in the National Concert Hall as support act for gospel legends The Blind Boys of Alabama as well as on RTÉ Radio 1’s Mooney?

Mooney and Waltons World Masters Series are offering one lucky group the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do just that!

The Waltons World Masters Series welcomes The Blind Boys of Alabama back to Dublin and the National Concert Hall on Wednesday, May 21st 2014. Ireland has its own great tradition of gospel music, and one very special aspect of this concert is that the support act will be an Irish gospel choir/group selected by the third nationwide Waltons World Masters Gospel Competition, in association with the Mooney and RTÉ Radio 1! The winning choir/group will perform a 40-minute set before The Blind Boys take to the stage.

Eligibility

All Irish gospel choirs/groups are welcome to enter.

The Competition

After all entries are received, a shortlist of three finalists will be chosen by a jury made up of representatives from Waltons New School of Music and RTÉ Radio 1. The finalists will be announced and their recordings broadcast on the Mooney on Thursday, April 10th. Their entries will then be sent to The Blind Boys of Alabama, who will select the overall winner.

The winning choir/group will be announced on the Mooney on Thursday, May 1st, perform on Mooney on a date to be announced, and perform in the National Concert Hall as support act for the Blind Boys of Alabama on Wednesday, May 21st.

The winning choir/group will be responsible for their own transport to/from the venue, as well as accommodation (if required). The group will receive five pairs of tickets to the concert for guests, but there will be no monetary remuneration.

Pet Queries With Vet Andrew Byrne

In the papers this morning, there was a warning of a mystery dog disease that is killing dogs in the UK. Dogs start to form lesions on their legs, they then get kidney failure and they die. 16 dogs so far have died in the UK. Click here to read the full article.

Vet Andrew Byrne, from BrayVet, is here with us today to talk pet pain and older people & pets...

Edith Piaf - No Regrets

That's the unmistakable Edith Piaf, with one of her best-known songs, La Vie En Rose.

She really did lead an extraordinary life, Edith Piaf. And if you've seen the movie of the same title La Vie En Rose, you’ll have some idea of the tragedy and heartbreak which dominated that life.

October 13th 2013 year marked 50 years since the death of Edith Piaf. But in the intervening half-century, it's difficult to think of any singer, male or female, who captured the same level of raw emotion in their recordings as this diminutive French chanteuse.

Well Edith Piaf creates new fans every decade, and one of them is Irishwoman Jeannette Byrne. Jeannette has very strong French connections, and she's taking to the stage later this week with a new production - a tribute to France's greatest singer.

Mooney's Wednesday Quiz

It's Mooney, it’s Wednesday ... so it must be time for our Mooney’s Wednesday Quiz! And we have a seriously GREAT prize up for grabs today...

The Flynn Hotel Group January Room Sale starts on January 17th and for just seven days you can pick up a fantastic deal in any of the four Flynn Hotels on a wide selection of dates from now to June 2014.

Rooms at The Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, The Imperial, Cork, The Park Dungarvan and the Old Ground in Ennis will be on sale from just €69 per night for two people sharing including full Irish Breakfast and late check in or check out. The sale is on for a limited time only so log on to www.flynnhotels.com from January 17th to bag yourself a bargain get away!

So to banish the January Blues, we're one listener the chance to win a two night, weekend break away with breakfast on both mornings and dinner on one evening for two people in any of the four Flynn hotels. You win, you choose!

The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis

You can choose from The Newpark in Kilkenny, The Imperial in Cork, The Park in Dungarvan or the Old Ground in Ennis.

So if that sounds like something you’d like to win...

... we are looking for three contestants to take part in our Quiz today.

Habitat For Humanity

Last week, in Upper Sherrard Street in Dublin, the Rahman family were presented with keys to their new three-bed home by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn.

The family, originally from Bangladesh, have being working with a group called Habitat for Humanity Ireland and they help low income families get their own home.

The house was previously a derelict Dublin City council house, and was the scene of anti-social behaviour. Habitat for Humanity Ireland, along with a group of volunteers, and the family themselves, renovated the house. The family are paying a small mortgage on the home and will come off the growing Dublin City Council housing list.

Brenda chats to Vinnie Cunningham, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Ireland with David Shiels, Site Supervisor for Habitat for Humanity Ireland looking on

Habitat for Humanity Ireland fundraises to send volunteers overseas to build homes in partnership with local families and are also involved with a local renovation programme in Dublin which partners with Dublin City Council to increase access to housing for low income families and vulnerable people.

Brenda visited the house and met the new proud homeowners MD and Helena Rahman, and also Vinnie Cunningham, the Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity Ireland.

Habitat for Humanity Ireland are starting to renovate another derelict home two doors up from this house, and are presently appealing for potential homeowners to apply for this opportunity. In order to be considered you must be on the Dublin City Council waiting list, so if you are, then visit http://www.habitatireland.ie/.

Hedgerows: It is an offence to 'cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy hedgerows on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 1 March to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions'. For more information, click here.

UPDATE: February 29th 2016 - Press Release From BirdWatch Ireland:

Putting the record straight: Dates for burning and hedge-cutting have NOT changed

BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, is very concerned about misinformation that is currently circulating regarding the dates within which the burning of vegetation and cutting of hedges is permitted. It would like to remind landowners that all burning and cutting must cease on 29th February this year and that burning and cutting remains prohibited from 1st March to 31st August.

Despite attempts by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D., to change the laws regulating these dates by introducing the Heritage Bill 2016 earlier this year, it is important to note that the proposed date changes were ultimately NOT made. This is because the bill failed to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas before the recent dissolution of the Dáil in advance of the general election.

The laws in place governing the dates for hedge-cutting and upland burning therefore remain unchanged. The period within which cutting and burning is prohibited are set down in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended in 2000), which states that:

(a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (above).

The existing law provides exemptions for road safety and other circumstances and should be read carefully to ensure compliance.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act exists to protect nesting birds. Many of our upland bird species are in decline and are in danger of extinction in Ireland; amongst them is the Curlew, which has declined by 80%. Many birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, including the endangered Yellowhammer. The changes to the cutting and burning dates which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016 would have caused serious impacts to these birds. A petition launched by BirdWatch Ireland in conjunction with several other national conservation organisations to stop these changes attracted more than 16,200 signatures and rising.

BirdWatch Ireland would also like to advise members of the public that if they see hedges being cut or fires in the uplands on or after 1st March, such activity could be illegal. In such cases, we would encourage people to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie) to report such activity.

BirdWatch Ireland warmly welcomes the demise of the Heritage Bill 2016 and sincerely hopes that any future administration will consider the importance of Ireland’s natural heritage and will not attempt to reintroduce such a flawed and damaging piece of legislation.

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.